Time Has Grown Dim, And Evening Has Already Fallen - Chapter 24

Chapter 24

As he went on and on, even Cheng Xun, who was busy burying his head in meat, started to wonder how Lu Xingshu would respond.

To his surprise, Lu Xingshu lowered his eyes slightly and gave a very simple answer: “Oh.”

Jiang Tiao was left a bit embarrassed by this cold reaction. A look of distress flickered across his fair face, and the hand holding his glass stayed frozen in mid-air, neither going up nor down.

Liang Ziyan, sitting across from Lu Xingshu, couldn’t help but shoot him a meaningful look when he saw things heading south.

“I see,” Lu Xingshu added, then downed his drink in one go, as if giving Liang Ziyan some face.

Jiang Tiao seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and looked like he wanted to say more, but this time it was Liang Ziyan who pulled him back and shook his head.

“Let’s eat first. This meat’s going to burn if we don’t flip it.”

As if following his cue, Lu Xingshu reached out, picked up several pieces of well-done pork belly, and dropped them all into Cheng Xun’s dipping bowl.

“Thanks,” Cheng Xun said, nearly choking, but still giving him a smile. “I can grab it myself. You should eat more too—you’ve been doing all the talking.”

Out of the four of them, Cheng Xun was likely the most serious eater, completely unaffected by the awkward atmosphere. He had just checked the menu; the prices here were startlingly high, and they had ordered so many plates of meat… splitting the bill was going to cost a fortune.

Cheng Xun suddenly regretted not working during the break. Watching his savings dwindle with nothing coming in was painful for a little money-grubber like him. Since he was already here, he had to eat his money’s worth.

He wasn’t sure what Lu Xingshu was up to; after serving Cheng Xun meat, he barely ate any himself. Returning the favor, Cheng Xun wrapped a few pieces of meat in lettuce, smothered them in sauce, and placed them in Lu Xingshu’s bowl.

Cheng Xun mouthed silently: [Eat more.]

Lu Xingshu let out a silent laugh and followed suit, mouthing back a “Thank you.” However, there was something exceptionally tender in his gaze.

When Cheng Xun tried to focus back on his food, he felt a prickly sensation. Looking up, he realized the person sitting opposite was staring straight at him. Being watched unblinkingly by those ink-black eyes would make anyone feel strange.

“Cough—!” As luck would have it, he got choked by a bit of spicy sauce.

Cheng Xun reached for his glass to douse the fire, but he had already finished his drink. Missing the golden window for relief, he fell into a fit of coughing. Lu Xingshu patted his back to help him catch his breath and refilled his glass with a yogurt drink.

Without time to say thanks, Cheng Xun grabbed the full glass and drained it. He finally felt a bit better.

“Eat slower,” Lu Xingshu said with a frown.

Cheng Xun scrunched his nose at him and rasped out, “I know.”

Jiang Tiao, sitting across from them, finally withdrew his gaze. He lowered his eyes and sipped his drink slowly, his long lashes veiling his eyes.

After lunch, Lu Xingshu took Cheng Xun to his teacher’s house to retrieve the guitar. Liang Ziyan and Jiang Tiao headed back to the hotel first.

While on the bus, Cheng Xun mentally calculated the cost of the meal and sent a WeChat “Red Packet” to Lu Xingshu. Lu Xingshu looked at the message but didn’t tap to accept the money.

“You don’t need to give me that,” Lu Xingshu said flatly.

Cheng Xun immediately shook his head, his amber pupils reflecting Lu Xingshu’s profile. “That won’t do. Didn’t we agree to split it? I can’t let you pay for everything.”

“It’s fine,” Lu Xingshu said, his eyes darkening slightly. He added, “Mine is yours.”

Cheng Xun tilted his head, confused. “Huh?”

“We’re family anyway,” Lu Xingshu said, then pursed his lips and fell silent, his jawline tightening slightly.

“Ah,” Cheng Xun finally caught on. “You mean, your money is my money, so it’s only natural for you to pay for me?”

Lu Xingshu gave a very faint “Mm.” His gaze drifted to the scenery flashing past the window, purposefully turning his face away so he wouldn’t see Cheng Xun’s reaction.

“But that makes me look like I’m living off of you,” Cheng Xun scratched his hair in distress, but a moment later, he beamed. “Forget it. I’ll treat you to something good when we get home. Or better yet, I’ll cook you something delicious.”

Lu Xingshu pressed his lips together and replied, “Okay.”

They got off the bus and walked about a hundred meters to an old residential complex where the teacher lived. Though it was an older build, the quality was good, and the property management seemed responsible.

Lu Xingshu pressed the doorbell politely. The door was soon opened by a lady who was older but well-maintained. Lu Xingshu called her “Teacher Li.”

After entering and putting on shoe covers, Cheng Xun sat somewhat awkwardly on the fabric sofa in the living room while the TV played a popular drama. Lu Xingshu followed Teacher Li to the practice room to get the guitar.

Suddenly, a short-legged Corgi trotted over from the balcony. Showing no fear of strangers, it lunged toward Cheng Xun’s feet. Cheng Xun laughed and stroked the dog’s back. Seeing the little guy’s cheeky expression, he picked it up. The Corgi seemed to have been bathed recently; it smelled like shampoo, and the fur on its rump had been trimmed into a heart shape—it was adorable.

The “practice room” was actually a converted study. Teacher Li had been Lu Xingshu’s holiday tutor. She was a teacher at the S-City Conservatory of Music and ran prep classes during breaks. When things had gone wrong at Lu Xingshu’s home, she had kept his guitar safe, and Lu Xingshu was deeply grateful.

Teacher Li wanted to keep them for dinner, but Lu Xingshu declined. Instead, she brought out some fresh lemon cream cupcakes she had made that morning. They were sweet and tart, and very delicious.

As Cheng Xun ate his cake, the fat Corgi lay on his lap, staring at him with a pitiful look. However, human food isn’t suitable for dogs, so Cheng Xun just patted its head and finished the cake himself, leaving the dog whimpering in longing.

When they bid Teacher Li farewell, the Corgi even came out to see them off reluctantly.

“Dogs are so cute,” Cheng Xun sighed as they headed downstairs.

“Cuter than cats?” Lu Xingshu challenged.

Cheng Xun thought about it seriously and declared, “Whoever clings to me most is the one I like.”

Lu Xingshu: “…”

By the time they finished afternoon tea and navigated back—with the GPS failing at a critical moment—it was quite late when they returned to the e-sports hotel. They dropped off the guitar in the room and headed out for dinner.

Lunch had been rich and greasy, so they opted for something lighter for dinner. They settled on a Haidilao nearby.

The seating was the same as lunch. Jiang Tiao continued to eat elegantly, his gaze drifting back and forth between Lu Xingshu and Cheng Xun. Cheng Xun was always in his best mood while eating, unbothered by anything.

Although Liang Ziyan desperately wanted to pull an all-nighter gaming, unfortunately, the other three didn’t seem to share his enthusiasm.

“My rank is pathetic; I won’t hold you guys back,” Cheng Xun dodged Liang Ziyan’s team invite and went back to playing his casual MMO. Jiang Tiao wanted to join them, but his parents were strict and never allowed him to play games. His account was brand new, making him no better than Cheng Xun.

“I… I’ll just watch,” Jiang Tiao said.

So, it ended up being just Lu Xingshu and Liang Ziyan ranking up with random teammates.

After playing for a while, Cheng Xun noticed the bathroom was free and decided to take a shower while they were occupied. He tapped Lu Xingshu’s arm. When Lu Xingshu took off his headphones to look at him, Cheng Xun smiled and said, “I’m going to shower first. You guys keep playing.”

Lu Xingshu nodded. “Okay.”

Cheng Xun hadn’t been inside long and was just about to undress when the bathroom door was pushed open.

It was Jiang Tiao.

“…” Cheng Xun was speechless. “At least knock. You scared me.”

Jiang Tiao raised an eyebrow. “I’m here to use the toilet.”

Cheng Xun shrugged. “Fine, it’s yours.”

He tried to sidestep out, but Jiang Tiao reached out and blocked him.

Cheng Xun: “?”

The bathroom door was firmly closed. The hotel’s soundproofing was decent enough that their conversation wouldn’t be overheard.

“I don’t mean any harm,” Jiang Tiao said, getting straight to the point. “I just want to know your relationship with Lu Xingshu.”

Cheng Xun was even more confused. “What do you mean by that?”

Jiang Tiao was slightly shorter than Cheng Xun, but his beautiful “fox-like” eyes held a deep intensity as he looked up. He curled his lips into a slight smile, his voice low and ambiguous. “You don’t have to play dumb with me. I can tell.”

What the hell?

Cheng Xun was baffled. He wondered why this guy was so “sinister” when they were alone, yet perfectly normal around Liang Ziyan and Lu Xingshu. Plus, there was a subtle hint of disdain in the way Jiang Tiao looked at him.

An inexplicable spark of anger flared up in Cheng Xun. He didn’t even know why he was so annoyed, but his tone became impatient. “I don’t see why I need to tell you what our relationship is. On what grounds are you even asking?”

Jiang Tiao’s face darkened with every word. Fortunately, he was fair-skinned, so it wasn’t overly obvious.

“But since you want to know so badly, I don’t mind telling you,” the handsome boy said with a slight curl of his eyes, looking full of youthful mischief. “Lu Xingshu and I are…”

He had intended to say they were “family,” but at the last second, a prankish urge took over. The words twisted into:

“The kind of relationship where we sleep together.”